Wanting to buy a Digital SLR camera...

Akenyon

unrich wrote: »

My experience was to start with a film SLR. After A while I bought a DSLR. The lenses I chose are interchangeable between bodies. All the old Pentax lenses fit the Samsung digital bodies so I have access to all the 2nd hand lenses on ebay.

Depending on your photography you will end up with lenses in addition to the 18-55mm.

A wide angle lens. 10-20mm in digital terms. Great for perspectives, big noses, depth of focus.

A long zoom. 50-300mm. For getting things closes that you can't physically reach. Wildlife, candid shots.

After this you will probably start looking for APO lenses, fast/prime F1.4/F1.8 lenses, a 100mm portrait lens(70mm digital) and 500mm tele lenses etc etc.

Stick with the 18-55mm and see where your photography takes you, unless you have unlimited funds then pop into your local camera shop and get them serving you.

The 18-55 lens will do 90% of things you require. I advise you to keep the money in your pocket until you have learned a bit and know what kit will help you most.

Like a copy of Photoshop for £600 or so.

Cool, you know your stuff
I will go for a Canon i think and do what you said, save my money until i find out what i need.
I already have Photoshop CS as i do graphic design.

wolfman

The D40X and D80 are the Nikon equivalents.

I've held both the EOS400D and D40X. They're so similar it's hard to tell much difference. I did prefer the Nikon slightly to be honest.

The Canon does have 7 (I think) focussing points as opposed to 3 on the D40X (the D80 has 7 or 10 or something). It's not a huge factor for me.

The Nikon has a slightly better stock lens. 18-50mm is a good range, I personally prefer the 18-70mm. It's a great lens and you get a little more range with it.

The one downside to the D40X is the lack of inbuilt motor. So older lenses will fit, but the auto-focus won't work. Hasn't been too much of a problem for me yet.

The D80 is the best choice of all of them but costs quite a bit more. I think it comes with an 18-70mm kit lens, and an inbuilt focussing motor. It tops all the reviews I've read.

If I could go back. I'd get the D80 and 18-70mm lens kit. And then still have my 55-200mm VR telephoto lens (it's cheapish and works well, bit slow though).

The EOS400D is a good choice if you can't afford the D80.

Of those three you can't really go wrong.

isofa

I've been using Canon gear for 20 odd years, moving to DSLRs when they were first available, I've been through a few, but stuck with Canon, because they are reliable and I have all the lenses to match, and I have some expensive "L" series lenses!

If I hadn't got a Canon and was starting out now, I'd shortlist Canon along with Nikon, and then choose the best at the time.

If you are on a tight budget, you might want to look a older Canons like the 350D and then buy a decent lens to go with it - the 350D is one of my favourite "budget" DSLRs, because it has both a TFT screen and a secondary LCD to use for modes and settings, the 400D and 450D, don't have these, you now have to move to the more expensive 40D and upwards for this "pro" feature.

The kit lenses are fine for beginners to start with, but to get the most out of these cameras, you need much better optics - so put some money away for a decent standard zoom, something from around 28-70mm, remember Canon DSLRs (non-full frame ones) effectively magnify the focal length (due to sensor size) so a 28-70 lens appears as a 44-112mm. So wide angles cost more money, but you can make the advantage up in long zooms, a 300mm on a consumer Canon DSLR equates to 480mm!

Don't be swung by mega-pixels a decent 6 to 8 MP DSLR with a top lens will produce fantastic results, way in excess of what a 10MP compact can produce.

Try reading the reviews at:

www.dpreview.com
www.cameralabs.com
www.stevesdigicams.com (mentioned earlier)

And a few good magazines too!

For new prices, use: www.camerapricebuster.co.uk for comparisons

For your requirements, I'd shortlist the 350D, 400D and new 450D. Then once you are comfortable with the camera, look at upgrading the lens as your next purchase.

PS Have a look for good sellers on eBay too, bargains to be had, some brand new too!

unrich

Since yesterday Tesco price has gone from £359 to £429!!!!!!.

Check out http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Canon_EOS_400D_Lens_Kit_EF-S_18-55mm_pc.html for latest deals.

Akenyon

unrich wrote: »

Since yesterday Tesco price has gone from £359 to £429!!!!!!.

Check out http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Canon_EOS_400D_Lens_Kit_EF-S_18-55mm_pc.html for latest deals.

They are sooo crafty!

Akenyon

isofa wrote: »

For your requirements, I'd shortlist the 350D, 400D and new 450D. Then once you are comfortable with the camera, look at upgrading the lens as your next purchase.

PS Have a look for good sellers on eBay too, bargains to be had, some brand new too!

Cool thanks, The things i like about the 450D is the live mode and the MP, But like everyone has been saying Mp doesnt really matter.

I think i will go for the 400D and then upgrade the lens later on when i have got to grips with it.
i would go for the 40D but it seems abit expensive

Akenyon

unrich wrote: »

Since yesterday Tesco price has gone from £359 to £429!!!!!!.

Check out http://www.camerapricebuster.com/Canon_EOS_400D_Lens_Kit_EF-S_18-55mm_pc.html for latest deals.

Just looked at that site, currys is cheapest at the moment

Currys Price £394.99
plus you get a £15 voucher from camerapricebuster bringing it down to £379.99
and then £45 cashback from canon.

Thought id look at the 40D whilst i was on there..

Currys Price £859.99
get a £70 voucher from camerapricebuster bringing it down to £789.99
AND THEN you get £140 cashback from canon
bringing it down to £649.99 (and thats with the lens)


Im sooo confused now lol

unrich

Unless you can get an owner to show you round one then just toss a coin.
Whatever you buy you will soon want more features/better this that or the other.
Technology will get cheaper and you'll feel you lost some of your money.

My OH just sold a 4 year old camera bought for the best part of £600 for £150. So that's about £100 a year. The replacement is £350.

You will hmmm and ahhh until you make the decision and even than you will question yourself.

The point is,

the equipment is there to allow you to make images. So the longer you're without it the more images you're missing.

Read up about William Eggleston. His ethos includes taking just one image, if its out of focus or wrong he just takes the chance. He moves on.

If you are looking for static images of stuff then a tripod may be more important to you than getting a better(more expensive) camera. No matter how expensive the camera if you are hand holding that shot at dawn you will never make up for the coffee making your hands shake.

So spend £150 on a tripod and £450 on a camera.

mrs-b_15

Hi,

I own a Canon 400D and am currently using it with it's kit lens - the 18-55. It's a great starter lens (nice and light) and the best bit of advice on here is to take pictures and THEN see what else you want.

I'm currently looking at upgrading my main lens as I'm after more zoom, and my top tip is to use the canon zoom browser software (comes in the box with it's cameras) to see what settings you shoot at - focal length, aperture etc - so you can scroll through your shots, and it will give you a good indication of what you're actually using the camera for.

Another great website that compare all of the canon lenses (budget to the expensive range) is:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

Happy snapping
mrs-b

Akenyon

mrs-b wrote: »

Hi,

I own a Canon 400D and am currently using it with it's kit lens - the 18-55. It's a great starter lens (nice and light) and the best bit of advice on here is to take pictures and THEN see what else you want.

I'm currently looking at upgrading my main lens as I'm after more zoom, and my top tip is to use the canon zoom browser software (comes in the box with it's cameras) to see what settings you shoot at - focal length, aperture etc - so you can scroll through your shots, and it will give you a good indication of what you're actually using the camera for.

Another great website that compare all of the canon lenses (budget to the expensive range) is:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/

Happy snapping
mrs-b

Thanks thats really good advice!